Desolate Wastes
by Deric Wadleigh
Summary: Deric, a boy from a Variant Buddhist vault in the Capital, is thrown into the Wastes and forced to fend for himself.


Desolate Wastes

Five years before the fabled lone wanderer of vault 101, fourteen years Project Purity has sat forgotten and rusting. Eighteen years after the Brotherhood of Steel claimed the Pentagon as the citadel. 195 years after the Great War started with a big bang and ended in silence.

2272: a date that would cause a ripple in the Wasteland but would soon be forgotten.

Vault ninety-one, Deric's home. It had been his and hundreds of other people's homes for nearly two hundred years. He was sixteen and had his first job in the vault.

Deric was a smart student and had studied harder than any of the other eleven kids in his class. He learned the comprehensive system of neutron-engineering and was a qualified neutron reactor technician now. He was replacing a ninety six year old technician that was of the first generation to be born in the vault.

He was skinny and strong, short brown hair fell around his ears. His eyes were a cold brown and he had thin meticulous fingers, excellent for working around neutron reactors.

In their vault, law dictated that every ten years the amount of dead was accounted for and that many women were allowed to have children. This kept the Vault around a simple population of three hundred.

There are one hundred and twenty-two Vault-Tec Vaults that were created to protect Americans from the American-Chinese nuclear war. The war had devastated the world and the vaults were the only sanctuaries left untouched. Although some of them didn't work so well.

Vault ninety-one is a vault that stands apart from most others; it is a singular religion vault; a modified Buddhist vault. The vault suits weren't rubberized jump suits, but protective robes that were worn by most traditional Buddhists in the past. The vault also contained a traditional Zen garden and meditation rooms.

"Deric…Deric? Wake up Deric." A voice snapped Deric from his thoughts.

"Yes, yes I know." Deric said, looking around.

"We all know what job you're getting, but you might as well at least pay attention to the teacher." Deric's friend Airon said as she looked back up at their teacher.

"I don't see why I'm even here; I wish I could just go take over for that old geezer and get it over with." Deric said, leaning back.

"Hey, you two be quiet. You all must take your VIPEs and figure out your job. Vault inhabitant proficiency exams are very important." The teacher said.

That night is when it all started, when the vault was invaded. It happened around dinner time.

After a dinner of rice and synthetic pork, Deric was heading back to his room when he heard the explosion.

It came from the upper floors and near the vault door.

"There is no cause for alarm, will all vault residence please return to their rooms and activated safety doors." A voice came over the P.A. system, Deric was already running

He dove inside his bedroom and pulled down the door lever, a heavy blast door sealed the entrance to his room.

He crouched down and hid behind his bed as he heard the screams come from outside his room.

It may not have been an honorable thing to do, but Deric really didn't want to die and…well…he had faith in the vault security team.

Nearly an hour later, Deric heard the raiders outside his door.

"Hack this one too; I think it's the armory." A raider said.

Deric jumped up and grabbed a screwdriver off his table. It would be less than a few minutes before the raiders hacked his door open, if they knew anything about computers at least.

He unscrewed the cover to the hatch to the door controls and looked inside. A few crossed wires and a shorted circuit and he had disabled the door mechanism. The heavy door wouldn't open without an explosion.

"How long is that going to take Johnson?" A raider said, sounding impatient.

"I don't know sir, I think it's broken." The raider hacking the door said.

"Hey guys, I found the map to this place. Get this, there is no armory. They have almost no weapons!" A muffled voice came from outside his door.

"Well forget it then; I don't care about one pathetic bedroom." The first raider said.

Deric sighed and sat down against the door. He had saved himself, but what would happen to the rest of his vault and family.

He felt so ashamed for his cowardice, but those raiders would kill him if he went out there.

It was two days later when Deric's stack of snacks and drinks ran out. He only hoped the raiders had decided not to take up residence in the vault. If they had, he would have a problem getting out.

"Please don't be out there." Deric prayed, as he carefully rewired the door.

The door hissed and opened.

The hall was empty except for a dead monk on the ground in front of him. He was sitting against the wall with his blood staining his front.

"Bastards." Deric cursed, looking around.

The hall was pocket marked with bullet holes and laser burns. Down the hall, dozens were dead, including a few raiders.

It was good to see that his fellow vault dwellers didn't go down without a fight.

Walking down the hall, Deric looked down at the raiders. They were killed by skillful hand to hand combat that was taught as a meditation technique to those in the vault.

Grabbing a small pistol off one of the raiders, Deric took all the ammo he could find as a precaution. It was a simple handgun with 10mm shells.

"What happened?" Deric said, walking down the hall silently.

The entire vault had floors made of artificial wood and Deric was a master at walking in complete silence. He had snuck out of his room and past guards many times.

He turned quietly around a corner and held the gun out in front of them.

The hall was devoid of anything except a dead raider that Deric searched.

"Why bottle caps?" Deric said, looking at a strange bag full of bottle caps. The tops of the caps all had the same white and red words on them, 'Nuka-Cola.' He took them just in case.

Deric passed by a sparring room and looked through the door. On the wall was a pair of curved blades with long red strips of cloth hanging from the handles. He strapped a sheath on either side of his waist and holstered the pistol in the inner folds of his orange monk robes.

After searching the entire vault, Deric found no survivors and nearly fifty dead raiders. The strangest part was that he couldn't account for about forty vault dwellers, including his friend Airon.

Deric stood in front of the vault door. He had seen it a few times before, but never as it was now.

The great, thick gear was missing a huge chunk in the center. It looked as if it had been melted by a high power laser used by the raiders. He didn't believe it; they were brought up to believe that this door could withstand a nuclear blast.

As he looked through the vault door, he noticed something that was out of the ordinary.

The great gear was hollow, only made up of about inch thick steel. The cheap bastards at Vault-Tec cut budget by cheapening their only means of defense and now because of that, most of his vault was dead.

The other side of the door was a rugged stone cave. Deric wondered what horrors lie outside the vault.

Walking back to the cafeteria, Deric picked up a pack from one of the raiders and filled it with bottles of water and packages of food.

A meager plan was formulating in Deric's head. Emboldened by the death of his Vault Brothers, he was going to leave the safety of Vault Ninety-one and search for his fellows in the outside world. Although he had no idea where to start because he had no idea what was out there.

Walking back to the destroyed vault door, Deric stepped through the burnt gear and walked up the path towards the cave's entrance.

"This is it, once I walk out this door, there is no going back." Deric said, taking a breath as he reached for the wooden doorframe. On the doorframe was a torn piece of orange cloth, from another monk's robes.

This strengthened Deric's resolve to head into the wastes and find his vault brothers. He pushed it open and a bright light hit him. This light was the world's sun; a sun he had never seen before.

As his eyes adjusted, he heard a loud ding next to him. He held up his left arm and pulled back the long orange sleeves.

On his arm was a Pip-Boy 2000.

The screen read:

_Congratulations Vault Dweller._

_You have made it into the outside world and Vault-Tec would like to congratulate your survival skills. Ha, that's a joke; you must have been in a trusty Vault-Tec vault. Upon looking out at this outer world, we hope that your vault can use your G.E.C.K. and all of the vault supplies to rebuild an enduring city on the surface. As a congratulations gift, we would like to automatically reprogram your Pip-Boy to help you in the outside world!_

Suddenly the Pip-Boy was jumping all over and flashing all kinds of colors.

Then all at once, it stopped and there was another small ding.

Deric looked at the screen, now it contained two sections. The first held radiation levels, health monitors and a map that was uploaded from somewhere. The second screen held a note book, a radio receiver and transmitter, an audio recording system and a passive compass.

"Well, that's handy." Deric said, searching the map.

There were only three things on the map of Washington D.C., Vault ninety-one, a small town east of him called 'Megaton' and a signature at the bottom left corner that read 'Compliments of the Enclave!'

"Enclave?" Deric wondered.

Deric suddenly had an idea and looked at the radio on his Pip-Boy. There were only two signals, the first was unexplainable white noise and the second was a looping presidential broadcast from a 'President John Henry Eden'.

"That's disappointing." Deric said as he started up the hill from the vault.

He reached the top of the hill and looked around.

The capital city was a desolate waste. A broken highway above the land was visible in the distance.

Deric programmed the Pip-Boy's compass to show an arrow in the direction of the city listed on his map.

He just hoped Megaton city wouldn't be full of monsters as he had been told the entire world contained while he was in the vault.

The rocks beneath his feet could be felt through the soft rubber soles of the vault shoes he was wearing. They wouldn't last long and he would definitely need a new set of shoes. He hoped they had shoes out here in the wastes.

Deric picked up the pace and jogged across the dead field in front of him. As he topped the next hill, he saw Megaton in the distance. At least what he thought was Megaton.

Deric hurried silently across the wasteland. He saw nothing living in between the vault and the city until he reached the front of the city.

"Welcome…to…Megaton." A strange robot droned on, "Don't worry…the bomb…the bomb is perfectly…s…safe!"

There was suddenly a god-awful screeching and whining as two large panels were pulled out of the entrance way by a broken and flaming engine mounted above it.

Deric cautiously walked through the entrance and through the large door into the city.

The city itself was built inside the edges of a crater, so when one entered the city, you were on the upper hillside and could look down into it.

"Hello there stranger, what's your business in Megaton?" A grizzled man in front of him asked.

The man wasn't a horrific monster as he expected, he was just a tired looking man who looked like he hadn't slept since the Great War.

"I'm from…" Deric thought about it for a minute, "…far away and I'm looking for a few friends of mine. Would you happen to have seen them, they're most likely wearing robes like this except they could be yellow, black or crimson."

"I would sure remember someone like that and nobody like that has passed through my town. So what's your name?" The man asked.

"I'm Deric, a humble Buddhist monk from the west." Deric said, holding out his hand.

"I'm Lucas Simms, mayor of Megaton and Sheriff when needed." Lucas said, shaking his hand, "So, I take it by your fine demeanor, we aren't going to have any problems with your stay in our town?"

"I'm just a fleeting shadow in your town; I simply want a night's rest and a bite to eat." Deric said, looking around.

"Well, there's Moriarty's saloon up there and if you need it, there's Crater side supply over there. Moira Brown has a good selection of weapons if you have the caps." Lucas said, pointing the places out.

"Thank you sir." Deric said, realizing why the bandit had the bag of bottle caps. It appears that in the wasteland, Nuka-Cola caps are the currency.

Deric headed down the hill and up the makeshift ramp towards Moriarty's saloon. He looked nervously at the atomic bomb in the very center. It was about ten feet high and buried a few feet in the ground. The great square fin stuck up in the air and some water had accumulated around its crater.

He hurried up the ramps, nervous around the bomb.

Once in front of the makeshift building, he opened the door and walked in. Only four people were inside.

Two were sitting together at a table, one was behind a counter and the other was in front of the register.

As Deric walked up to the counter, he almost screamed. The man behind the register was ugly and disfigured. His skin was mottled and decaying.

"What're you staring at smooth skin?" The man said, noticing Deric.

"I'm sorry sir; I was just horribly startled by your appearance." Deric said, bowing his head slightly.

"Sir? Why would you call me sir?" The man said.

"I disrespected you and I didn't mean to cause any emotional problems." Deric said, sitting down on a stool in front of the bar.

"You aren't going to kick me, punch me, call me names or make fun of me?" The man said.

"Well, you may look strange but that's all only appearances, although I would like to know your name." Deric asked respectfully.

"I'm Gob. Sorry about what I said, I just never expected any smooth skin to ever be nice to me. I think I could give you a discount on a few drinks, just don't let Moriarty know or I'm a dead ghoul." Gob said.

"What do you have to drink?" Deric asked.

"Pretty much any kind of liquor you want." Gob said.

"I'm not much of a drinker; just find me a glass of water." Deric said, frowning.

"Ok, it's not too cold because the refrigerator is on the fritz." Gob said, grabbing a glass from beneath the table.

"It's ok." Deric said as Gob poured a glass of water from a pitcher.

As Deric reached for the glass, the Pip-Boy beneath his robe sleeve beeped; he pulled his sleeve back and looked at it. It read 'Drink contains two rads.'

Deric clicked the help button and it opened up a menu that read 'The universal rad system is based on total human tolerance of one thousand rads being lethal levels.'

"This is radiated?" Deric said, holding up the glass.

"You mustn't be from very close around here. The entire water basin around here has been radiated for hundreds of years. You're lucky this water is as clean as it is. Don't worry; one drink won't turn you into a ghoul." Gob said, "By the way, that is two caps."

"Hmm, okay." Deric said, digging in the bag hung at his waist that contained about two hundred caps.

"Don't worry about rads, there really aren't any negative effects until you reach around two hundred." Gob reassured him.

"Hey, do you want me to take a look at that fridge for you?" Deric asked as he took a drink of the not-so-cold water.

"If you have the tech skills, I'd be glad to pay you to." The man down the bar walked over, "I'm Mr. Colin Moriarty, owner and proprietor."

"Well, let me see it, it can't be any harder than a nuclear reactor." Deric said, downing the rest of the water. His Pip-Boy warned him that he now had two rads.

"It's right here, there's a tool box. If you fix it, there'll be thirty caps and a night sleep in it for you. So far, nobody can get that stupid thing working consistently." Colin said.

Deric knelt down behind the fridge and inspected the cooling system. It was a simple fix; the wires to the coolant pump were corroded and shorted. Deric taped them up and had the entire mess fixed in just a few minutes.

"Well, I'll be damned. It's all working now; by god, even the light is back on." Colin said, looking in the fridge, "I'll keep my word, here's thirty caps and you can have the second room at the top of the stairs for the night."

"Thanks, after the travel across the wastes, I think I could use it." Deric said, taking the handful of caps from him, "But first I need to find some shoes."

"Well, from what I've heard, Moira has comes up with new things every week, you should go talk to her. Young girl, but she knows her tech." Colin suggested, returning to his seat.

"Thank you Mr. Moriarty." Deric said, bowing slightly.

Deric left the Saloon and worked his way across the shaky scaffolding to the build with 'Crater Side Supply' written on the front.

He stepped inside and was face to face with a reddish-brown haired woman. She was short and skinny, wearing a blue jumpsuit.

"Oh hello there, do you need something?" She said in a pleasant voice.

"Yes ma'am, I was wondering if you had a sturdy pair of shoes that would fit me." Deric asked politely.

"Well, I don't have any, but I could work on those and maybe toughen them up." Moira said, pointing at his rubber shoes, "A few tacks and some metal and I think I could really make those things tough."

"Well, what do you need?" Deric asked.

"I think if you found me two feet of wire and a good pile of scrap metal. I have the rest I need here. Give me fifty caps along with that and you'll have your shoes." Moira said, scratching her chin.

"Where should I find that?" Deric asked.

"I'm not sure, go search the wastelands." Moira said, "You're bound to find some scrap somewhere. Try directly south of here; scouts have reported a rogue robot wandering through the wastes down there. If you kill it and loot it, it should have everything you need and more."

"Well, can you mark the area on my Pip-Boy here?" Deric asked, holding out his arm.

"Oh wow, a working Pip-Boy, either you're really, really lucky or you came from a vault." Moira said, taking hold of his arm.

She clicked a few times on the map and a marker appeared.

"I'll be back once I have it." Deric said, turning for the door.

"Wait, take this." She said, holding out a round object.

"What is it?" Deric asked.

"A pulse grenade, the robot is a Protectotron Model and should be easily taken down with this. Just pop the top and press in the three pegs to light it. Then you have six seconds till detonation." Moira said, showing him the edge of the cap.

"Thank you, this should be easy enough." Deric said, leaving.

He left megaton through the same entrance and headed south. It was about an hour until he reached the marker. Standing where it said, he looked around until he spotted a green mark on the hillside above him.

Deric held the pistol in his left hand and the pulse grenade in his right hand. A quick five minute jog up the hill and the robot turned to look at Deric.

"Citizen, please clear out of this restricted area….thirty…twenty-nine…two…one. I am now authorized to use lethal force." The robot said; its voice breaking and stammering. It raised an arm and fired.

A misfired laser zipped past him as Deric popped the grenade open with his thumb. He pressed down the pegs and hurled the grenade like a baseball.

It landed a foot past the Protectotron and detonated in a dome of electricity and pressure.

The Protectotron fired again, but Deric could tell its sensors were messed up and its circuits were fried.

He aimed and pulled the trigger four times. Four slight bans from the gun and one connected with the Protectotron's head. Its head burst open in a blast of electricity and the Protectotron fell over.

"Well, that was easy." Deric said, holstering the laser pistol.

He walked forward and looked down at the robot. It had stubby legs, stubby arms and a thick chest. Its head was flush with its torso and was burst open on the top.

Deric knelt down and picked up the ultra-light metal body of the Protectotron. He took a slow ninety minute walk back to Megaton with the Protectotron in his arms.

He could've torn the robot apart, but because he was unfamiliar with the style of robot, he didn't want to risk it. It seemed that Moira was perfectly skilled in this sort of thing, so he didn't need to chance it.

"Whoa, you took down a rogue Protectotron, nice job." Lucas said as Deric walked into Megaton.

"Yup, I need some new shoes." Deric said, carrying the robot down the hill.

"Shoes?" Lucas seemed puzzled.

"Talk to Moira, it was her plan." Deric said, walking calmly up to Crater Side Supply with the robot.

"Moira…crazy girl…" Lucas chuckled.

He kicked the door a few times and Moira opened it.

"You got the whole dang robot?" Moira seemed astonished.

"It's not that heavy." Deric said, walking inside, "Where do you want this?"

"On the table over there, I'll get to work immediately. In the mean time, you're simply going to have to go barefoot." Moira said, taking his shoes from him.

"I think I'll just rest here if it's ok." Deric said, dropping his pack on the worn couch next to him.

"You're choice, but I've never been a cobbler before and this may take a few hours." Moira yelled over the loud buzz saw she was pressing to the Protectotron's chest.

Sparks were shooting everywhere when Deric fell asleep, but the last few hours had been very tiring.

It was getting dark when Moira was finished with his new shoes.

"Deric…Deric wake up." Moira said, shaking him.

"Yea…yea, I'm awake." Deric said, sitting up.

"Here are your new kickers." Moira said, holding up a set of shoes that looked nothing like his old ones.

They were entirely covered in light formed metal with dozens of miniscule spikes on the bottom. There was also a trio of long spikes on the toes of the shoes.

"These look a whole lot better; I suppose I owe you fifty caps now." Deric said, taking the shoes.

"No, it's ok. I didn't expect you to give me a whole Protectotron. You don't owe me anything, I could easily make fifty caps from the pieces of the robot." Moira said, shaking his hand.

Deric put on the armored shoes and walked around, they felt good; she had lined the inside with some sort of animal's fur. It was soft, but short and fuzzy.

"Well, thank you Moira. After I find my friends, I may come back sometime." Deric said, leaving.

"That would be nice; maybe you could bring me a Mr. Gutsy model next time." Moira chuckled.

After a good night sleep, Deric set off early in the morning. He threw his pack over his shoulders, checked the clip in his pistol and started off.

"Before you go Deric, I have a piece of advice." Lucas Simms met him at the gate to Megaton.

"Yes Lucas?" Deric asked.

"If you really want to survive in the wasteland and find your friends, you're going to need some help. There are rumors of a powerful group south-east of here. They are supposedly set up in the old Pentagon ruins. I don't know if you'll be able to join them or even talk to them, but it's definitely a good start." Lucas said.

"Can you put it on my Pip-Boy?" Deric said, holding out his arm.

"Sure, it's near the river here. You may have to go through some of the metros to get there though." Lucas said, pointing out the Pentagon and a few metro tunnels.

"Thank you." Deric said, turning until his Pip-Boy compass read SE. An arrow sat there in the direction of the Pentagon.

"Be careful of Mole-Rats and Radscorpians." Lucas warned as he walked back into Megaton.

Deric unsheathed a sword in his right hand and began his trek across the wastes.

The first half an hour was boring walk across the lifeless land.

As he topped the next hill, he saw a strange creature in front of him. It was almost a fat dog, except that it was completely bald with a mole-like face.

It took an amazing leap straight at him from six feet away.

Deric held up his sword and put a hand behind the blade. He caught the beast in front of him and pushed him back. A skillful stab forward and the beast was skewered on his sword.

He stepped on the creature and pulled the sword out. He knelt down and cleaned the blade across the creature's sandpaper-like hide.

"So that's a mole-rat." Deric said, turning the mutated creature over.

Deric trekked across the wastes, becoming the foe of Radscorpians and Mole-rats alike.

His skill encompassing most forms of hand to hand combat and skill with curved blades proved useful in his trek. Even the quick tail of the Radscorpian couldn't catch him.

He turned a corner and clambered over a large pile of a destroyed building. At the top of the pile he saw a horrific sight.

Large green-brown men were ruthlessly and barbarically attacking a squad of men in worn silver armor. The men in silver armor were using sophisticated weapons such as large Miniguns and heavy laser rifles.

The barbarian mutants on the other hand were using anything from a large sledgehammer to a piece of wood with a railroad spike in it. A few mutants further away seemed to be equipped with large missile launchers and assault rifles.

"Lyons, that launcher's blowing us apart!" one of the soldiers' voices was heard.

"Roger, I'll take it out." Another soldier, a female, said. She held up her laser rifle and shot the mutant with the missile launcher six times.

The mutant's arm was blown off and the launcher detonated in his hand. The mutant roared in defiance and ran forward through his comrades.

"Take it out!" The female soldier named Lyons said, firing faster.

A soldier with, what Deric thought was a Minigun, opened fire. Dozens of red lasers shot from his heavy gun and blasted the rampaging mutant to the ground. He realized that the pack on the man's back was a battery, not an ammo box.

Deric suddenly realized that these must've been the rumored group that Lucas Simms had been talking about. He was now determined to make an impression on them and make sure they knew him.

He unsheathed both of his swords and leapt down the concrete pile.

A mutant with a large sledge hammer bore down on the woman named Lyons. She raised her rifle to fire on it, but it was already too late. The mutant raised its sledgehammer.

Deric leapt up from behind and sliced through the handle of the sledgehammer. It fell and conked the mutant on its massive head. He took a slice at the mutant's neck and was met by a strong resistance.

The mutant roared in anger and took a swing at him. Deric dodged and tried to slice again.

The beast had a powerful hide and Deric had barely sliced into it. Leaping onto its shoulders, he began to stab wildly at the creature's head. It had a very thick skull.

He made a few more powerful swings at its neck as the mutant yelled and flailed about.

"Stupid tiny man, get off me and fight!" The mutant yelled thickly.

Finally Deric pierced through its hide and severed its spinal cord. The mutant fell limp and almost fell on Lyons.

"Thank you wastelander, now please keep back." Lyons warned him as Deric stepped back.

Deric noticed a mutant taking aim with a captured laser rifle. He had to save this woman.

Holding out his sword, the laser caught the shining edge of his sword and the carefully lined up light photons were easily deflected by the mirror surface.

"I thank you again wastelander, but please leave!" Lyons said as she fired.

Deric did as he was told, only to move a few feet and begin attacking another mutant that was fighting with another armored soldier.

This time, he sheathed one blade and took a slice at the creature with both his hands. The finely articulated edge sliced cleanly through the tough hide and lopped the mutant's head off.

"Thank you stranger, please stay back." The soldier said, aiming a large rail-like gun on his shoulder.

He pulled the trigger and a large missile was lobbed down range and exploded among the mutants with a classic nuclear cloud. Three mutants were killed and two were knocked down.

Deric cleaned and quickly sheathed his sword as the last close-range mutant was dispatched. He pulled out his laser pistol and fired at the mutants that were firing back.

As he saw a missile heading his way, Deric dove behind a large chunk of concrete and felt it rattle as the explosion hit it.

"Unload brothers, tear down these last few." Lyons said and Deric saw five grenades primed and thrown.

Large green explosions leveled the last three mutants and the armored soldiers holstered their weapons and grouped together.

Deric stepped closer, but kept his distance out of caution.

"Stranger, come talk with me." Lyons said, waving him over.

"Yes ma'am?" Deric asked, making a slight bow.

"We appreciate your help, but you must know that the Brotherhood of Steel is training as many new trainees as it can handle right now. We have no more room for new recruits." Lyons said.

"I'm not looking to join you; I only need a touch of help. I am looking for my friends; most of them are dressed as I am." Deric said, looking down at his flamboyant orange robes.

"Well, I don't know what help I can offer, but you may come back with us to the Citadel and Elder Lyons may be able to offer some insight into your problem. Anyway, what is your name?" Lyons asked.

"I'm Deric, a humble Buddhist monk of Vault ninety-one." Deric said, holding out a hand.

"Sentinel Sarah Lyons, leader of the Lyons' Pride." Sarah said, shaking his hand.

"It's good to meet you, but I must ask. What is the Brotherhood of Steel doing out here?" Deric asked politely.

"Not everyone got to crawl into a nice warm vault and stay safe for the last two hundred years. We're here fighting off the Super Mutants and trying to restore peace to the Capital Wasteland. We have to protect what non-mutated humans there are left." Sarah said as they walked.

"So, I know you're not taking anymore trainees, but could I join the Brotherhood without going through the training." Deric said, resting a hand on the hilt of a sword.

Sarah looked completely appalled at the idea.

"Everyone in the brotherhood is trained in power armor and wears it when we head into the wasteland. It's unheard of to into the city ruins without armor. Without the training, you really can't be a true Brother in Steel." Sarah said, exasperated.

"I just thought having a quick scout such as I would be helpful, because one way or another, I'm going to be going all over these wastelands looking the other members of my vault." Deric said, following them through a wrecked building.

"What makes you think a soft vault dweller could survive out here?" Sarah said skeptically.

"I may be a vault dweller, but I am far from soft. Everyone in vault ninety-one is trained and practices in most, if not all hand to hand combat. Then when a vault member turns twelve, they choose a combat weapon and spend their time training in that. None of those foul beasts would ever even touch me." Deric explained to her.

"Ah, so I take it you chose swords?" Sarah said.

"No, actually I took the quarter staff, but part of the training with quarterstaffs is learning how to defend against other weapons such as curved blades. So I'm fairly familiar with these." Deric said, "Plus how well would a quarterstaff fair against those brutes?"

"So, if you live in a vault, what is the point of this training?" Sarah asked.

"The defensive training of Karate is an excellent way to keep the body and mind in perfect condition until a very elderly age. The weapon sparring is just to advance our skills further fill our time in the vault." Deric explained.

"So you've been down there for nearly two hundred years, when were you supposed to come out of there?" Sarah asked.

"According to the records in the vault, we were scheduled to open the vault and re-colonize the surface in another five years. Apparently two centuries was the time in which we were supposed to be safe to come out. It seems that's wrong." Deric said.

"So why did your vault members leave anyway?" Sarah asked.

"Raiders, they blasted into our vault and killed everyone. I survived because of my cowardice and now I have to redeem myself by finding the surviving vault members and by finding us a place to live." Deric said through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

"I thought those vault doors were nearly invincible." Sarah said, astonished.

"I thought so to, but not ours, I inspected after the raiders left. It was only made up of inch thick steel. They burned through it with some laser weapon. Then they murdered my whole vault. When I searched the vault, I didn't find my friend or about thirty other vault members among the dead. I also found some torn cloth on the way out that matched these robes." Deric said, "Someone from my vault escaped and until I find them and kill the raiders responsible, I'm never going back."

"That's horrible. Even those in the vaults are in danger." Sarah murmured.

They walked in silence, the only noise being the jingle of the soldiers' armor. Nearly an hour later they came upon a large structure with a heavy red wall covering the entrance.

"Elder Lyons, it's the Pride returning from its hunt." Sarah said into an intercom.

"Ok Sentinel Lyons, opening the main gate." A voice came back.

There was a god awful screeching and the red wall lifted eight feet off the ground and came to a stop.

"You're all free to go take a shower and get a bite to eat. Our next excursion isn't for forty-eight hours." Sarah said, turning to her soldiers.

There was a chorus of cheers as the soldiers headed through the main gate and past the inner doors.

"As for you, we have to go see my father, Elder Lyons." Sarah said, turning to Deric.

Deric followed quietly behind as they walked into the courtyard of the Citadel. As he entered it, he realized that the five angled walls around him were once the greatest intelligence agency on the planet.

Now it was in ruins and was a base for this last ditch group of wasteland defenders.

As Deric looked around, he noticed that everyone here was like Lucas Simms. They were all hanging to life, but they were tired and worn. Even the fresh faced initiates showed the same signs of demoralization. The people here had been fighting a good fight against an enemy that just nipped and bit them down until they were worn thin.

"Well, it doesn't look like much, but this is home." Sarah said, leading him to a door guarded by two armored soldiers.

"Ma'am." One of them said, nodding.

"How long have you been here?" Deric asked, looking at the worn staircase they walked down.

"A west coast Brotherhood contingent was dispatched here in 2254, eighteen years ago. I was just a child, only eight years old, but I spent the last eighteen years training and working with my Brothers until I reached seventeen years old and took my own set of power armor." Sarah reminisced.

"Your father wanted me to tell you that he's working down in the lab. Him and a few scribes have decided to give Liberty Prime another good hard push." A Brotherhood soldier said as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"This way." Sarah said, leading him down another set of stairs.

"What's Liberty Prime?" Deric asked as they went through another door.

"That…is Liberty Prime!" Sarah said, pointing at quite an amazing sight in front of them.

They stood on a scaffolding twenty feet above the floor and were almost face to face with a huge robot. The robot was thirty feet tall and painted completely black except a few stars painted on it.

"Whoa, that's a big robot." Deric exclaimed.

"Too bad it doesn't work." Sarah said, "We could really challenge the Super Mutants then."

They walked down to the floor and looked up at it. The robot was set in between four large pillars with a few safety wires holding him up.

"It's gorgeous isn't it? If we could just make it work!" A man said behind him.

"Father, it's good to see you." Sarah said, turning around.

She embraced the elderly man behind them. He was wearing full navy blue robes and had graying hair running down his shoulders.

"So what's wrong with him?"Deric said, looking at the robot.

"We're still repairing his main systems right now. The only system that works at one hundred percent is its vocal systems and its comments sure are funny." Elder Lyons said, typing a few keys on the computer terminal in front of them.

"_Death is a preferable alternative to communism!" _The robot thundered.

"Its weapon systems are currently non functional. Theoretically, Prime's motor functions are about thirty percent; the gears are a little rusty. Prime's sensors and electronic systems are corroded pretty horribly when we arrived and we have been working to repair them." Elder Lyons said, showing them the schematics they found, "But we just got in a new supply of sensor modules and wiring. The Scribes and I are giving him a strong new push to make him work."

"I might be able to help; I'm skilled in most electronics. I'm especially good in nuclear reactor technology." Deric offered.

"Sorry, but I have to refuse. We may allow you to help on the battlefield, but I can't trust you with our greatest potential weapon." Elder Lyons said dismally.

"I understand, now onto other business. I was wondering if I could recruit the Brotherhood's help in a personal matter. As you have probably guessed, I'm from a vault, number ninety-one in fact. My vault was assaulted by raiders and some of my brothers were driven from it." Deric said, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind letting your troops know to keep an eye out for them. They're all wearing robes similar to my own."

"Well, that shouldn't be too much trouble. But we have a problem of our own. We need to be able to communicate with our troops in the field, but we have limited two-way radio systems. If an emergency should occur and we need to call all our troops back to the Citadel, we have no way to do it." Elder Lyons explained.

"And you want me to find you system to be able to send a long broadcast?" Deric jutted in.

"Yes and no, we have our eye on a building, but we just need to capture it. The problem is that it's in the center if Super Mutant activity. The old Galaxy News Network building would be perfect because it has a broadcast range that will reach the entire downtown area. We just need a tech that can go in there and get it set up, but we can't send any of our scribes, they're all working on Prime or other tech." Elder Lyons said.

"So you just need me to talk to the computers there." Deric simplified, "While your men do the heavy lifting and liberate the building."

"Essentially." Elder Lyons said.

"Well, if you will let your troops know to look out for my vault mates, then it's a deal." Deric said, shaking the Elder's hand.

"Now, let's get you a worthwhile gun. We've got a room for guests that you can stay the night in." Sarah said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Deric felt rather safe with The Pride. Sarah walked on his right with a laser rifle in her hands.

They were a ways from the citadel, walking through the broken buildings and piles of rubble. The sun was still hiding behind the tall broken structures, it was barely light out. After a breakfast of high protein gruel, Deric was awake, but still a little worn.

Knight Colvin walked in front of them with a large Minigun in his hands and ammo trunk on his back. Paladin Vargas walked on their left with a missile launcher in his hands.

Behind them walked Paladin Glade, the Paladin had offered to help them get to the radio station. He carried a belt of plasma grenades and an experimental weapon on his shoulder. The weapon had been scavenged by the Brotherhood Scribes and they dubbed it "Fat Boy.' It was a large rail that fired small nuclear bombs.

Deric recognized this weapon from the first time he happened upon The Pride yesterday.

"So how thick is the soup in these parts?" Paladin Glade asked.

"Like molasses, not a fun place to be." Sarah chuckled.

Deric suddenly felt more vulnerable. He gripped the weapon in his hands tighter. It was large rifle that Sarah had convinced the Brotherhood armory sergeant to give them.

The gun was a forty inch rifle that fired a fifty caliber explosive shell. A headshot from this rifle would drop any Super Mutant. It was known in the years before this as a PTRS sniper rifle.

"That's an interesting rifle you have there." Paladin Vargas commented, "What did you do to get tech like that."

"I kissed some serious ass." Sarah laughed.

"Contact, at our two!" Knight Colvin yelled as his Minigun spun up.

"Firing!" Glade warned. There was a loud clink of metal and a miniature nuke flew over their heads.

Deric looked just in time to see a trio Super Mutant s blown to giblets.

"There are six more, at our eleven!" Knight Colvin turned and fired.

Deric dropped to one knee and held the rifle to his shoulder. The 2.5 zoom scope gave him a nice view of the super mutants charging them. The front two were taking the brunt of the mini-gun and Sarah's laser.

Aiming carefully, Deric pulled the trigger and the rifle cracked loudly, punching against his shoulder. The bullet left the gun and hit a super mutant in the head. It punched a hole clean through its head and exploded out the back of it.

The mutant fell forward, dead as a rock.

"Nice shot Deric." Sarah commented as Deric loaded another round into the chamber. The gun used to have a mechanism underneath it to hold a few shells in a clip, but it had long since busted. The gun was now pieced together and had to be loaded one at a time.

A loud thump from Paladin Vargas' launcher and a missile collided with and destroyed a Super Mutant.

At this point the Super Mutants were getting awfully close to them and Deric had a small window to fire through. He took it and put a bullet through the neck of one Super Mutant and into the forehead of another. They both dropped, both now headless.

Knight Colvin was almost face to face with the last two Super Mutants left.

Raising his Minigun up, he unleashed a deadly barrage on the closest mutants head. Its face caved in and the Mutant fell.

"Die puny man!" The last Super yelled loudly.

Just as the Super Mutant raised its sledgehammer for a killing blow, Sarah shot six times at it and one laser pierced its eye for a killing shot.

"That was close." Knight Colvin said, stepping back from the dead Super.

"We must keep moving; the gunfire will have attracted more." Paladin Vargas said, hooking his missile launcher on his back.

They hurried through the ruins, climbing over piles of rubble and sneaking around corners, hoping to avoid any Super Mutants.

"Through this building complex is the radio building, you can see the tower there." Sarah said, pointing above them.

A battered and rusted tower stood tall above them, maybe a quarter mile in front of them.

"Die puny men!" A Super Mutant yelled from a nearby window.

There was a gunshot and a bullet pinged off Paladin Vargas' armor.

"There, kill it!" Sarah said, running forward. Deric followed with his handgun.

They all fired at the mutant and it fell from the window a few seconds later.

"Let's hurry. If we can get inside that building, we can defend ourselves easily." Knight Colvin led them through a doorway.

Deric holstered his pistol, readjusted the rifle across his back and unsheathed a sword.

They hurried through the building, among a jingle of armor, they heard a few Super Mutants entering the other side of the building.

"Shh…" Deric said, pressing a finger to his lips. He pointed at the doorway in front of them. The Brotherhood took their positions on either side of the doorway and Deric hid behind a chunk of wall that was fallen in front of the door.

"I can smell you puny men!" The Super Mutant yelled, walking towards the doorway.

As he stepped through, Deric made an acrobatic leap over the wall and flew at the Super Mutant. He already had his blade raised above his hand and drove the point of the curved blade through the Super Mutant's face.

The Super Mutant dropped and Deric landed softly.

"Very nice, now let's get in there." Paladin Vargas said, turning and running through the door.

The Brotherhood unloaded on the last two Super Mutants and dropped them in seconds. In the close quarters, their concentrated fire and team work was excellent against the mutant's brutish nature.

"There it is." Sarah said as they hurried through one last broken doorway.

There was a sizable courtyard in front of them and a large building across from them. Even though it was worn, the GNR was still visible on the front of the building, below the tall radio tower.

"Well, let's go!" Deric said, and he sprinted across the courtyard faster than any of the Brotherhood.

The doors were worn but still intact, the walls were in the same condition. Deric pulled on the handle and the door swung outward.

"Come Brothers, let us take our prize!" Paladin Vargas said, hurrying through the door.

The Brotherhood ran inside and Deric followed.

The inside was a mess. The walls were worn and crumbling. There was trash and heaps of junk everywhere.

"Let's look up here; I think this is the main studio." Sarah said, pointing at a door on the second floor.

They followed her up and through the door. There was a short hallway and another door. Through that door were a small room and a staircase at the other side.

"Stop right there, another move and I'll take your head off." A woman's voice called out as they stepped into the room. They stood at the bottom of the staircase.

"That wouldn't be wise. The moment you pulled that trigger, my men would tear you down." Sarah warned.

"Try it girly, I'll kill you all." The woman said.

It was then that Deric spotted her; a tall thin girl with blonde hair was kneeling behind a flipped table above them. She held a large rifle in her hands that had a glowing green barrel.

"I will come up there and end you if you don't put that gun down." Sarah challenged.

There was a crash and a cursing voice. A moment later, there was a whistle above them.

"I think you should abide by our words or I will drop this." A man in a head wrap and round glasses said. He was hanging over the railing around the staircase with a large device in his hands.

"Do it!" Sarah said, pointing her rifle up at him.

"I'd rather not because I've been saving this little bomb for the Muties out there. Now if all the formalities have passed, we can put down our guns and talk." The man said, putting the bomb on a table behind him.

"Good idea, I think he's right." Deric said, pushing past Sarah.

He walked up the stairs and headed for the man.

"Whoa brother, what a get up, you look right out of an old kung-fu movie." The man said.

"Thank you…" Deric said uncertainly, "My names Deric."

"Hi I'm…well…you can call me…Three-Dog." The man said tentatively.

"Three-Dog?" Sarah chuckled from next to Deric.

"It's a working title ok. It doesn't matter anyway; we can't get this station working with what's here. I've wanted to give the people of the wastes something to listen to for a while, but I just can't find everything I need." Three-Dog said, rather disappointed.

"We want to be able to help the wastes by providing information and music in the easiest manner, radio waves. There hasn't been a good radio station in the wastes for ten years. Since that group atop the Washington Monument were killed and raided." The Lady said, "You can call me Marge, I'm a techie."

"So why've you broken in here?" Three-Dog asked.

"I'm with the Brotherhood of Steel and we demand you hand over this station and clear out." Sarah said matter-of-factly.

"And I demand you kiss my ass. We went through too much and too many Stealth Boys just to get kicked out by a group of toy soldiers in shiny armor." Three-Dog said sternly.

"Sarah, let me handle this. I think I can make him agree." Deric said, walking over to Three-Dog "Walk with me."

Three-Dog looked at him nervously and then followed. They walked to a room in the back where Marge and the Brotherhood couldn't hear them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Three-Dog said as Deric closed the rusted door with a screech.

"Look, I'm only with this group because they can help me find my friends. The only way they agreed to help me is if I got this station up and running for them. They need it so they can send emergency broadcasts to every Brotherhood member in the wastes. You know…a safety system to recall their troops and you want it to bring music to the wastes." Deric explained.

"I think I'm seeing a compromise here." Three-Dog said, smiling.

"Yes, I think I can convince them to let you keep the station if you let them use this building as an outpost and broadcast their emergency calls when needed. I don't think you'll have to do it very often; they just need to know that it's there. Will you do it?" Deric said, holding out a hand.

"You've got a deal…IF they will provide the parts to make it all work. I think this could also be used for news and tips." Three-Dog said, shaking his hand.

"Great, I'll go talk to Sarah." Deric said, pushing the rusted door back open.

"This is going to be great, not only do I get my station, but I get armored protection too." Three-Dog said happily.

Deric walked up to Sarah and she stared at him.

"Well, did you get him to get his shit and get out." Sarah said, crossing her arms.

"Not exactly, but we came to an agreement that I think you'll like. If you provide the parts to make the station work and allow Three-Dog to run the station as a music station, he will let you use the building as an outpost and deliver the messages over the radio when needed." Deric said.

"That's not exactly what we wanted. I'm just going to kick his ass out." Sarah said sternly.

"No Sarah, please don't do that. If you let this man, Three-Dog, set up this radio station, it will bring something seriously needed back to the wasteland. In my short time here I have seen one thing, a lack of classic civilization and life." Deric pleaded with her.

"Not everyone got to crawl into a vault and live out the last two hundred years in safety. Life and civilization is as good as it will get in the wasteland. You don't get how all of this works." Sarah said, pushing him out of the way.

"Sarah! From what I've seen in the city of Megaton and in the Citadel, a radio station is exactly what they need; something to give them a distraction from the day to day horrors. From what I've learned from Three-Dog, he has the best interests of the wasteland in mind and he could very well help in your fight against death." Deric said, "He could give the people of the Wastes something to fight for and fight with. Three-Dog said he also wanted to use the station for news and helpful tips. He is something this wasteland needs…please Sarah, please don't do this."

"I see this means that much to you. I will give you one day. If this man has proven that he can give something viable to the Wastes, I will let him stay." Sarah said, stopping.

"And there's one last thing." Deric said.

"What?" Sarah said, turning.

"The Brotherhood has to provide the parts for the station." Deric said.

"What! Hell no, if he wants it, he builds it." Sarah said.

Deric sighed and walked back to Three-Dog.

"Everything is fine, I just have to get a list of the parts you need." Deric told him.

"Talk to Marge, she'll get you what we need." Three-Dog waved him off.

Deric headed into one of the rooms and asked her.

"Sure, here you go. There's a small building we heard about and it should be unchanged. It was an old Short Wave Radio store and they should have nearly everything we need. We already collected a few computers and a record player." Marge said, "Also, keep an eye out for any records we could play."

"Why records?" Deric asked.

"Because most holo-tapes and other magnetic and technological music devices were either demagnetized or just burned out when the bombs were dropped. Records are one of the only things that could easily survive." Marge explained.

"Ok, I'll keep an eye out for them. Can you put the location in my Pip-Boy?" Deric asked.

Deric crouched behind a crumbling pillar. He was four blocks from the GNR building. The Radio Store was on the corner another block away. The problem was a group of raiders that had a barricade in a store next to the Radio Store.

Then a sudden idea hit him. He looked up at the building above him. The walls were sturdy but the windows were broken.

Deric made a skillful leap to a ledge ten feet off the ground. He leapt from that and caught a window ledge.

Pulling himself up into the window, he sidestepped a large hole in the floor and walked across the room.

Through the next room he saw a light and some movement. A bandit walked past.

"Yea, these damn bucket head soldiers are screwing up our lives." A bandit complained.

"Well, maybe if we headed out of the Capital Wasteland." Another bandit offered.

"You're a moron. We ain't leaving this gold mine. There's too much to be taken." The first bandit said, followed by a gunshot.

There was the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"You asshole!" A third voice yelled.

Suddenly the house was full of gunfire and Deric heard bodies hitting the ground. He turned quickly and crouched in a shadowy corner.

Within a few minutes the gunfire stopped and Deric looked around the corner.

The room was filled with dead and dying bandits.

"What the hell are you doing?" The last bandit said, seeing him.

Deric spun back out of the doorway and unsheathed a sword.

"Little bastard, I'm going to kill you." The bandit threatened, walking towards the doorway.

As he stepped through, Deric ran his sword forward, through the man's gut and into the broken door behind him. Blood welled from the wound and poured over the blade.

"Mother fucker…" The bandit coughed, raising his pistol.

Deric slapped the gun from his hand and ripped the sword from his gut. As the bandit hit the ground, Deric realized that the bandit was the first actual human he had killed in the wasteland. He picked up the gun, looted the bandit for his ammo and packed it all into the backpack on his shoulders.

Stepping over the bodies in the next room, he continued on.

Leaping out a nearby window, Deric caught himself on a broken piece of concrete and slid to the ground. The radio store was across the street. Peeking up above the concrete, Deric saw three large Super Mutants standing in the street a block away.

They were all equipped with rifles and large blunt weapons on their backs. Deric sighed and slid back down, he would have to be very careful about this situation.

He slid his rifle over his shoulder as quietly as he could. Mounting the large black rifle on a chunk of concrete, he looked through the scope.

The Super Mutants seemed to be walking around waiting for something. They were wondering in circles in the intersection.

He waited a few minutes for the perfect shot. He wanted two Mutants lined up for a single shot.

After about five minutes later, Deric clicked the trigger. The gun kicked and a bullet exploded from the gun. It blew the head off one mutant that was looking at something on the ground and put a large hole in the chest of another mutant.

"Who's there?" The third cried out, looking around.

The wind shifted and Deric's robes fluttered around him.

"I SMELL HUMAN!" The Super Mutant screamed, turning to him. The huge mutant began to run towards him.

Moving in a flash, he reloaded the gun. Deric looked and pulled the trigger.

The Mutant shifted and the shell blew through his stomach. The giant didn't even notice the wound.

"Oh, Sonuva…" Deric cursed loudly, jumping back.

The Super Mutant slammed into the chunk of concrete and it shattered.

Deric leapt nimbly up a rock pile and into the window of a nearby building. The Super Mutant roared and jumped after him. The Mutants may have been lumbering and slow, but they could build up momentum and jump high.

He barely moved out of the way when the Super Mutant smashed through the small window frame and landed hard on the floor. Blood flew from the six inch hole in its stomach.

The Mutant swung his hunting rifle like a bat and Deric ducked. Being thin and fast, Deric out maneuvered the lumbering Mutant easily.

He unsheathed his sword in a flash and sliced the Super Mutant's left hand off. The rifle fell from its severed hand and it roared.

"Stupid human, cut hand off! I KILL!" The Mutant roared jumping at him.

The Super Mutant punched him hard with his right hand. Deric flew back five feet and leapt to his feet quickly. Grabbing the sword from the ground, he lunged at the Super Mutant. His sword sliced quickly through the tough flesh on the Mutant's right arm. He sliced its arm off at the elbow and the Mutant bellowed in pain.

"God damn…puny…man!" The Mutant coughed; his blood was in a large puddle on the floor.

Deric lunged upward, his sword slashed through the Mutant's thick neck. It exploded out the back in a spurt of blood. The Mutant coughed and fell limp on his sword.

Its massive weight shoved him down to the ground before he could get his sword out. Cleaning the fine blade on ripped clothing that barely covered the beast, Deric sheathed his blade and stepped over the Super Mutant.

"Damn these foul creatures." Deric breathed, wiping sweat from his forehead.

The sky was turning a colorful red and it would be night before too much longer. He would have to get what he needed quickly and get back to the Station or be forced to stay a night in the heart of the D.C. wasteland.

The store was in sight, he ran down the deathly quiet street towards it.

Jumping through a broken window, Deric looked around the dark store. He clicked a button on his Pip-Boy and it lit up brightly.

Deric found a rusted metal box in the corner of the store and quickly filled it with parts they needed and a bunch of other stuff that could be useful.

Now came the hard part, getting back to the Station with the box intact.

Setting it up on his left shoulder, Deric wrapped an arm over it and jumped out of the storefront. The street was still quiet, which was rather amazing for the noise he made earlier. He ran quietly down the street, his metal plated shoes digging into the broken asphalt.

As he passed another building, there was a thump. Not just a noise, but a bone-rattling rumble. The building near him shook and rubble fell from the upper levels. It was small and didn't hit him, but it was slightly annoying.

Deric looked around carefully and continued on.

A few steps later, there was a loud boom and the ground beneath him shook. Deric flipped around and searched for anything. The street was still empty.

Deric continued on, his nerves horribly shaken.

As he reached the next corner, the entire earth shook and the building next to him rocked on its foundation. A massive hand slammed into the corner of the building and grabbed tightly, cracking the concrete.

His nerves broke as he saw what came around the corner. Easily twenty feet tall, this creature was gigantic. It only wore what looked like an old tarp as a loincloth and some sort of cage on its back that was full of bloody bones and flesh.

It was a massive Super Mutant.

Completely devoid of any hair and its lips missing, the giant Super Mutant looked horribly menacing without the size. With it, he was a nerve shattering beast of epic proportions.

His arms were larger around than Deric and his legs were nearly twice the size. His fists were the size of cars and his chest was six feet across of pure muscle.

"Oh…fuck…me…" Deric whispered, stepping back. His entire body shook with fear.

It stepped further around the corner and tore the chunk of the building it was holding out. The concrete fell to the ground and the beast howled. It punched the building and bellowed.

The punch went through the building and shook the ground.

Deric noticed something, the beast was howling in pain. It must've been attacked and survived.

He dove into the building the monster had just punched, maybe not the best of ideas. The giant beast had bullet holes in its chest and all kinds of slash wounds across its body.

Deric, as he did in the vault, decided to hide and let someone else take care of it.

The Behemoth Super Mutant stumbled on by, smashing the buildings as it went. Once it was passed, Deric slid out of the building and hurried down the street. He could barely make out the GNR antennae in the distance, hope was in sight and only by shear will was he pushing on forward.

He could still hear the rumbling in the distance of the gigantic Super Mutant rampaging around in anger and pain. He ran the other direction for nearly a half an hour.

Deric climbed through a dark building and slid down a piece of concrete on the other side. He was back into the courtyard in front of the GNR building.

Panting, he hurried for the front doors. All his courage and nerves were flooded with pure fear. His only thoughts were to get to safety within the GNR building.

Reaching the doors, Deric pulled on them. They didn't open. He dropped the box next to the door and started to pound on the doors.

"Sarah! Three-Dog! Marge! Open up!" Deric freaked, banging on the doors.

There was a beep and the door unlatched. Deric pulled it open and ran inside.

"God Deric, what's wrong with you?" Sarah asked as he ran inside panting.

"Did you bring anything at all?" Marge said, looking at his empty hands.

"I knew it was too good to be true. We'll have to go tomorrow and see what we can get ourselves." Three-Dog said as Deric slid to the floor against a wall.

"Deric, what happened out there?" Sarah said, crouching down in front of him.

"Gi…giant…Super…M…mut…mutan…" Deric stuttered. His face was still pale and his heart beat fast.

"Giant Super Mutant?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's he mumbling about?" Marge asked.

"He said something about a giant Super Mutant. I don't know what to make of it." Sarah said, standing up.

"Maybe Kung-Fu vault boy there wasn't ready for the wasteland yet. Has he even seen a Super Mutant yet?" Three-Dog said, frowning.

"I'm going to go look outside." Paladin Vargas said, walking towards the door. He unlatched the door and walked outside.

"I'd better come with." Paladin Glade said, following him.

They walked outside and closed the door behind them. Knight Colvin walked over to Sarah.

"Sarah, what Deric said, I think I know. Do you remember reports a few weeks back of a twenty foot Super Mutant rampaging through the north eastern section of the city?" Knight Colvin asked.

"The one from the Outcasts? I just assumed that was hearsay." Sarah said, surprised.

"I think Deric had an encounter with it." Knight Colvin said, looking over at Deric.

He was sitting against the wall with his knees hugged up to his chest. Sarah turned back to him and crouched down in front of him.

"Deric, Deric listen to me. Did you encounter a Super Mutant of huge proportions? Like a twenty foot Super Mutant?" Sarah asked kindly.

Deric's eyes widened and he nodded quickly.

"So it's true then. There's a gigantic Super Mutant out there somewhere and it's nearby." Knight Colvin said, checking around the large minigun in his hands.

There was a knock on the door and Three-Dog looked through the small eyehole in the door. He unlatched it and the Paladins walked in.

"We didn't find anyone out there." Paladin Vargas said.

"But we did find this." Paladin Glade said, hefting the metal box through the door.

"Is that full of what I think it is?" Three-Dog said, seeing a spool of wire sticking out the top.

"I think Deric came through, but he left this outside when he found the door locked." Paladin Glade said, handing it to Three-Dog.

"Oh Deric my boy. You've done it; this is everything we need…and more! There's so much extra stuff in here too!" Three-Dog exclaimed happily.

"I think we should put him to bed, he doesn't look good." Marge said, pointing at Deric.

"Yes, why don't you all get some sleep? Paladin Vargas and I will hold watch and we will switch with Paladin Glade and Knight Colvin in four hours." Sarah said, helping Deric to his feet.

"We've got a few extra mats in the side room up there. We had two other guys with us, but they both disappeared when they went for parts yesterday." Marge said, leading them up the stairs. Deric followed, still shaking, he hadn't regained his nerve yet.

Deric gasped and awoke in a cold sweat. He was lying on a hard brown mat in a dark room. Paladin Vargas and Sarah were both sleeping in the room with him. They were both sleeping in brown shorts and Sarah had a brown chest wrap.

Sighing, Deric got to his feet. He needed to find a tranquil place to meditate, something that he hadn't done since he left the vault.

Walking from the dark room, Deric walked down the stairs and out of the studio and into the front lobby. Paladin Glade and Knight Colvin sat on the staircase, their guns in their laps.

"Deric? Are you doing alright?" Knight Colvin asked, looking across the room at him.

"I've been better, I think I'm going to go outside and meditate." Deric said, walking towards the front door.

"What a strange man…" Knight Colvin said under his breath.

He walked out the front door and inhaled. The air was the same lukewarm stagnant air as it had been the night before. Without plants or oxygen exchange systems, the planet gets very little fresh oxygen except from the center of the oceans and extremely deep water.

Looking at the sky, Deric was disappointed at the buildings around him. They blocked the soon to be sunrise and cast a shadow over the area.

Turning around, Deric had an idea as he looked at the tall tower.

He walked over to the nearby railing and balanced himself on it. It took a single jump to get on top of the overhang. He walked carefully across it and reached the base of the giant antennae.

Wrapping his hands around pieces of thick metal, he hefted himself up and began to climb the tower.

Nearing thirty feet above the station roof, Deric turned to the east, away from the tower and sat down on a cross beam. He hooked his legs in the tower and sat straight up.

Putting his hands on his knees, Deric stared into the east where the horizon was turning red.

Breathing slowly, Deric closed his eyes as the sun cleared the horizon. The sun lit up the tower and Deric felt it hit him. His robes glowed brightly in the morning sunshine and he felt warmth wash over him.

He sat there with a clear mind and a slow breath, focusing himself for the coming day. After about an hour, the sun was in the sky and Deric sighed, opening his eyes.

An amazing sight spread out around him. He was nearly forty feet off the ground. Hooking his arm in the tower, Deric hung out, looking off into the distance.

He could see nearly the entire city from his height. The city, even though crumbling rubble and rather destroyed, was an amazing sight around him. He could see the Washington Monument and the other tall monuments that were still standing.

Beyond that, he could see the dead fields and wrecked suburban areas beyond.

"Beautiful." Deric said in a rather clichéd manner.

Tearing his eyes from the open view around him, Deric started to climb down.

"Deric! What're you doing up there?" Sarah yelled from the ground.

Deric climbed down, a bit of a smile on his face. He walked across the roof and leapt down to the ground.

"Gathering myself. What I did last night was inexcusable, it cannot happen again." Deric said seriously.

"Deric, you have been thrown from a Vault into the face of a giant Super Mutant, something that most Brothers of Steel would flee from. It was sheer amazing that you managed to keep your mind enough to make it back here." Sarah said, putting her hands on his shoulders, "I've heard stories of this brute and no one has survived a meeting with it."

"It doesn't matter. It's the fact that I ran from it. My fear ruled me." Deric grimaced, remembering his last few days in the Vault, his cowardice.

"Come on back inside, Three-Dog and Marge are already working." Sarah said, waving towards the door.

Deric followed her quietly, still in a sense of peace and meditation. They walked inside; Knight Colvin closed and locked the door behind them.

Walking up into the studio, Deric looked around.

The computers around them were on and different stereos and radios were hissing static and a song was playing from somewhere.

"Deric! You're back, wanna come up here and give me a hand!" Three-Dog yelled from beneath the radio he was working on. He was lying beneath a table working on some wires.

"Good to see you, let me get this together here and I'll find something for you to work on." Marge said, looking away from the computer screen she was working on.

Breathing slowly, Deric pushed the small pin into a tiny slot. He was working on a small fusion generator. The station was currently working on fission batteries, but that wasn't enough to transmit.

He touched a torch to the end of the pin and fused a wire to it. Suddenly there was a crackle and an orange light began to emanate from the fusion engine. Deric dropped a chunk of Mole rat flesh in the cylinder at the top of the fusion engine.

The engine whirred softly and the glow brightened.

"Yes, I got it working!" Deric cried happily.

The small fusion engine in front of him was an ingenious invention and one that may have been able to stop the war nearly two centuries ago. It was a generator that ran on nearly anything you put into it. When flesh or organic material was put in the engine, its particles and molecules were broken down and the pure energy from it was pulled apart and the only output was a fine neutron dust.

When run correctly, this miracle of technology could put out about twice as much as it needed to run, meaning as long as it was fed with organic material every day or two it was a perpetual energy machine.

"Good good, we were on our last few days of fission batteries. Let's hook it up to the power system and see how much it can run." Three-Dog said, grabbing one of the handles on the generator. Deric grabbed the other and they hefted the dense block over to the station area.

Marge unwired the battery system from the station and, with a few touches from a torch, wired it directly into the fusion generator. The computers and lights around the station lit up.

"So this thing just runs off anything organic?" Three-Dog asked, scratching his chin.

"Pretty much." Deric shrugged, watching he orange glow from it.

"So I could just go kill a mutie, stuff his right arm into this thing and it will throw me some power for a while?" Three-Dog asked uncertainly.

"Well, an entire right arm may be too big, but I suppose you could use Super Mutant flesh." Deric said, tossing another piece of Mole Rat meat into it. The lid on the cylinder fell closed and the block whirred slightly.

"So we're all ready for a test now." Marge said, clicking on a computer keyboard.

"Hot diggity damn! Three-Dog is on the air!" Three-Dog cried, almost skipping with joy.

"Not yet, I have to ask one thing of you. We've heard rumors that the station on top of the Washington Monument still works, there's just no one with the guts to go there. If you can get there and get it working, we could have this station broadcast to that station and the antennas are on top of it can broadcast much further." Marge said.

"What's so hard about that, it can't be much worse than getting the supplies." Deric said.

Everyone in the room looked at him with amazed looks.

"Deric, the area just outside of the Washington Monument is a warzone, it's full of trenches and bunkers. It's suicide to try and go through it and almost as bad if you try and sneak around it." Sarah said.

"Well, do you have one of those stealth field generators?" Deric asked.

"Stealth Boys? I think we have a few left." Marge said, turning to a closed box in the corner. She rummaged through it and brought out two small black devices.

"If I just use one of these and run my ass past it and into the Monument, do you think I could get it running?" Deric asked, taking both the Stealth Boys.

"Most likely, what I last heard was that some band of cowboys or something had decided to use it as an outpost and was held up there. If they haven't looted the equipment, I'm pretty sure you could get it running." Marge explained.

"Deric, I hope you know that we can't go with you. Without orders from my father, the Pride can't go into such a heavy warzone." Sarah said seriously.

"I know, and I could move faster without you anyway. Sometimes there is an advantage to not wearing that heavy armor." Deric said, putting the Stealth Boys in his pack.

"If you insist, I think we're headed back to the Citadel to report our success and to deem who will stand guard here and possibly at the Washington Monument." Sarah said, shaking his hand, "Run fast and run silent, I hope to see you again sometime."

"I'm not gonna die, it's just a quiet jog across the Capital." Deric said, surprised at her sorrowfulness.

"Deric, I'm not going to lie to you. You are going into the jaws of the beast and could very well die, some of our best Brothers have died in that warzone." Sarah said, rummaging through her belt pockets, "Here, take these Stim-Packs. They aren't the greatest thing, but they'll keep you going and they'll help with any injuries you may get."

"Thank you, now Three-Dog, what should I do when I get there?" Deric asked, turning towards Three-Dog.

"I'm not sure man, I know how to run this station, but I don't know 'bout that stuff man." Three-Dog said, shrugging, "Marge'll probably know."

"When you get there, if the equipment is still working, I want you to wire it to take in signals at ninety-nine point zero and transmit at one zero one point zero frequency. We are going to transmit a continual sound from here on and if you can make it work, it will transmit over the entire Capital Wasteland. When that station was working, it had a good hundred mile radius." Marge explained.

"Ninety nine to one zero one, got it." Deric said, making a mental note of the frequencies.

Deric was walking slowly through the concrete jungle, keeping a careful eye and ear out for anything near. The Stealth Boys had a time of about five minutes and that would be enough to get him across the central warzone at a medium pace. He needed both so that he could get out safely.

There was an explosion nearby and Deric jumped. A rocket had flown out of nowhere and exploded on a nearby wall. Leaping against the wall, Deric looked around for any movement. The street was quiet, the rocket had simply flown over some buildings and landed near him.

He sped up his pace, according to the map on his Pip-Boy, the long rectangular battlefield was just over the bridge in front of him. It would put him behind the Lincoln Memorial and a long sprint from the Washington Monument.

Deric could hear the battle calls and explosions from there. Pulling the Stealth Boy from his pack, he slung the back securely over his shoulders and looked down at the Stealth boy. It was a small black object, maybe three square inches, with a strange emitter on the top of it.

He clicked the switch down and pulled a small ring pin. The Microfusion cell inside it whirred to life and a cold air blew over him. The hand holding the Stealth Boy disappeared in a strange total camouflage. He could see himself still, but it was horribly blurred, like heat distortion off a hot object.

"Might as well get moving." Deric said as he pushed the Stealth Boy beneath his belt until it pressed against the skin of his waist.

He took a breath and started to run. The gunfire got louder and the yelling got closer. His adrenaline was pumping by the time he crossed the bridge. The entire field was saturated with screams of pain, roars of victory and nearly every type of weaponry imaginable.

Rockets flew overhead and bullets pattered the ground around him. None of which were actually aimed at him, they just got close by chance.

Deric was running on a large concrete walkway next to the field. His shoes were making light clanks with each step, but it was impossible to notice over the gunfire and explosions.

The entire field was encircled by a concrete walkway, The Lincoln Memorial on one end, The Washington Monument on the other. Behind the Washington Monument was the Capital building, but there wasn't as much fighting in that smaller distance.

He saw a massive horde of Super Mutants spread out in the battlefield on the side of the Lincoln Memorial. They were fighting off an attack of some kind.

Their hatred and rage ruled them, letting Deric slip by the battle unnoticed with the help of the Stealth Boy. He sprinted as fast as his burning muscles would let him.

As he neared the other side of the battlefield, Deric noticed who they were fighting. Dozens of men in black armor were spread out in their side of the trenches, firing back at the Super Mutants. They were all well armed, almost as good as the Brotherhood, and they were pushing the mutants back.

The Washington Monument was in sight and he was still out of sight, running slower every second. As lactic acid built up in his muscles, Deric was forced to slow to a jog and then a walk, his entire body burned.

He had covered the quarter mile long battlefield in just over a minute. The Stealth Boy was still whirring softly at his belt as he circled around the back of the battlefield and headed towards the Washington Monument.

As he neared it, he wondered how anyone could be pushed from it. There was a large ramshackle concrete wall circling it, although it was pieced together, the wall looked very strong. On the side facing the battlefield, there was an entrance of two metal doors. A computer terminal was on the wall near it.

"There's no getting through that, better go over the top." Deric said, looking at the dents and bullet marks all over the tough metal doors.

Taking a running leap, Deric managed to grasp the top of the ten foot doorway. He hefted himself up and over and landed on the inside with a soft thump of dirt beneath his metal shoes.

About ten feet in front of him was the base to the Washington Monument. It was massive and the brick was in good condition. Bullet holes pattered the rock up the entire height of it and the top ten feet of the Monument was open to the elements. Wires and antennas were visible sticking out of the top of the metal frame of the Monument.

Two men in long brown dusters stood in front of him. They couldn't really see him of course, but they were holding large rifles and they all had the traditional revolvers at their waists.

Deric stepped forward, walking as slowly and carefully as he dared. As he neared the two men, one of them stuck out their rifle and poked Deric in the chest.

"Damn Bob, you were right, someone was using a Stealth Boy." The man who had poked him said.

"Told ya Howard, now who are you?" Bob said, holding out his rifle.

"Damn it, I thought this thing made me invisible." Deric cursed, pulling it out of his pocket. He clicked the button on the side and tossed it away. The cloaking flickered away and the two men jumped slightly at the brightness of his orange robes.

"Camouflaged, not invisible, now answer the question." Howard warned, his finger twitching in front of his rifle.

"I'm with the Brotherhood of Steel and I was sent to make the station at the top of this work again." Deric said, half lying about his relationship with the Brotherhood.

"The Brotherhood? Well, if you can show some credentials since you aren't wearing power armor and didn't know the door code. The Regulators are friends of The Brotherhood and you are welcomed here as long as you are telling the truth." Bob explained.

"Ah crud, they Sarah didn't give me any credentials. I was over at the old Galaxy News Network building. We were helping Three-Dog and Marge set up a radio station." Deric said, scratching his head.

"Wait a second, is that a Pip-Boy?" Bob jumped, looking at his wrist.

"Yes, I've had it for years." Deric said, holding his arm out.

"You're a Vault Dweller aren't you? Which one?" Howard asked suddenly.

"What?" Deric said puzzled.

"Which vault, which vault opened?" Bob asked.

"Um, I'm from Vault Ninety-One, but we didn't open voluntarily. We were attacked and raided." Deric explained.

"So were you rescued by the Brotherhood or something?" Howard asked.

"No, most my Vault Brothers died. I'm on a quest to find them and before you ask, yes this is part of it. The Brotherhood and Three-Dog's radio station will both send out messages and keep an eye out for them if I get the station running." Deric said preemptively.

"So what are you doing here then? This is the Regulator in-city outpost. The Brotherhood should know that." Bob said.

"That may be, but there is a radio station on the top of this tower that I need to get running and set to a certain frequency." Deric said, "Now can I please come through?"

Bob looked at Howard quizzically. Howard nodded slowly.

"I couldn't imagine anyone except a Vault Dweller wearing such a getup. There's no way you're a Wastelander or a bandit." Bob said, stepping aside.

"Finally!" Deric said, rushing through the doors.

He stepped into a small hallway. Two more Regulators were sitting on chairs against the wall.

"If you're looking for James, he's upstairs playing with that radio again. The elevator's working again." One of the Regulators sighed.

Deric nodded and ran forward. There was an elevator in the center of the Monument. He stepped into it and pulled the lever. The elevator jumped and started to rise.

It took about three minutes for the slow old elevator to reach the top.

Stepping off into the room, Deric looked around. The room was about a six foot wide strip that wrapped all the way around the elevator.

Wires and electronics were spread all over the top of the tower. There were a few transmitters and receivers. The wires converged on one side where the largest antennae stuck out the top of the Monument.

Two men were standing at the large openings in the Monument walls. They were also in leather dusters and held long sniper rifles in their hands. A third man was kneeling in front of a computer, working on something.

"James?" Deric asked uncertainly.

"Yea!" The man on the ground said, jumping up.

"Hey, I'm here from the Brotherhood, they sent me to set up this station." Deric said, "Is it currently working?"

"Yes, the station itself is, but I don't have any mikes or anything to actually put sound on the radio." James said.

"Good, all we need this station for is a repeater. Three-Dog has a radio station at the old Galaxy News Network building and we need this to expand the transmission range." Deric explained.

"That seems to solve my problem. I've been held up here for weeks, trying to get this station back to transmitting. I suppose if this Three-Dog has a working station and this one will help, I can help." James said.

"Wow that was a lot simpler than I thought it would be." Deric said, surprisingly.

"The Regulators are here to help everyone possible and that is why I've been trying to get this running. The people of the wastes need something to keep up their spirits." James said, "Now what do we need to do?"

"Make this station accept signals at ninety nine Fm and transmit at one zero one Fm." Deric explained.

"That's all, by god; I'll have it running in two minutes!" James cried, jumping to one of the electronics.

He turned a few dials and clicked a button there was a loud whirring and he pulled another switch. The whirring stopped and a few lights blinked on.

James ran back and forth for another minute and then walked back to the main board. He turned one dial a full circle and there was a loud beep.

"That's it?" Deric asked.

"Yea, click the radio station on your pip boy, it'll play just fine." James said, patting him on the shoulder.

Deric did as James suggested and a delightful tune began to play.

"So that's it then, you're just going to let us take this station?" Deric said, amazed.

"Well, it wasn't ours to begin with and it needed to be put to good use." James said, shrugging.

"I suppose I'll run back to the GnR building and tell Three-Dog." Deric said, listening to the radio station.

Deric was sitting on a rickety old chair in The GnR station. Three Dog was sitting at the mike and Marge was cleaning what could be cleaned.

"Wasteland, can you hear me! Ahahaha, thanks to my main man in orange, the crazy kung-fu master and Vault Dweller Deric! I am now on the air and talking to you all. For those of you who don't know yet, I am Three-Dog! Song master extraordinaire! Coming to you live from the center of the D.C. warzone, held up in my armored bunker thanks to those rockin' bro's in power armor, The Brotherhood of Steel!" Three Dog called into the mike, "Now onto one of the few rockin tunes I have, Happy Times by that cool cat Bob Crosby!"

Three-Dog dropped the needle on a turntable and a song started to play.

"Man I wish I had some more music. We've only got about sixty different songs and those will get old over time. I'll try and fill it as much as I can with tips and talk, but there's only so much I can say." Three-Dog said after he flicked the mike off.

"Do you have something that will play Holo-tapes?" Deric asked unexpectedly.

"Well sure, but as I said, no surviving Holo-tape, or at least any of music, has been found." Three-Dog said, gesturing to one of the computers.

"Well, I think if I could make it out of this hell hole and, I hate to say it, but back in, I could make a trip to my old Vault. We had an entire library of musical Holo-tapes. Mind you, most of it was ancient acoustic music, but I'm sure there are a few songs that would be worthwhile. That would also give me a chance to see if any of my fellow Vault members every headed back there." Deric said, running a hand through his lengthening hair.

It had been a week since he had left the Vault. His hair, being fast growing, was down past his ears and there was slight stubble around his face.

"That would be excellent, but you know I can't ask you to do that. My whole reason for being here is to try and help people survive. Asking you to risk your life without great cause just isn't worth it." Three-Dog said, rather seriously.

"That's why I'm not offering, I'm telling. One way or another, I'm going back to my Vault and I want to be of as much help as possible." Deric said, resting a hand on sword pummel.

"That's a generous offer my man and I will be very grateful if you do that." Three-Dog said, "Just be safe out there."

"I'll be listening." Deric said, holding out a hand.

Three-Dog shook it and Deric turned from the studio, never to return there again.

Deric slid through the shadows of the old building and hid behind a broken door. He had heard bandits rummaging through the rooms behind him noisily. Flickering lights could be seen from torches they carried.

He was moving as fast as he dared without making too much noise. The Bandits were close behind him and they were searching the building for something.

A noise in front of Deric made him freeze against a wall. A flickering light was seen through the doorway in front of him and a bandit walked through it. Four men were following him, laughing and shoving jovially. They had found something worthwhile and it had raised their spirits wonderfully.

Deric quietly slipped both his swords from their sheaths and walked into the center of the room. There was a noise of the six bandits behind him walking into the room. He was now surrounded by eleven bandits.

To his luck, none of them carried guns. They all had pipes, blades and bludgeoning weapons.

"Look boys, what'd we got here?" A bandit in front of him said.

"Look at them shiny swords. I bet the boss'd love those." A man behind him said.

"Can I tell you guys something?" Deric said casually.

"Yea…I bet them clothes would be worth something too." A third bandit said, ignoring his question.

"Thank you, now I think I'll start with the beginning. I came from a Vault. When I first stepped into the wasteland, I felt sorry. I was guilty. Now I know that it is a land of rapists and thieves with a few golden kernels spread about. You are a cursed land. Cursed ground, cursed sky and cursed life. The only ones that deserve mercy are those few that live wholesome and honorable life." Deric said, lowering his head, he spread his swords out, "Repentance, sorrow, honor: these things are not known in this land."

"Shut this fool up!" One bandit cried, leaping forward.

Deric twisted and lunged out with his swords. He met a man's stomach and his blades slid through him. He turned and pulled the swords from the man.

The bandits descended upon him.

Lunging at a bandit with a long rod of steel in his hand, Deric deflected his swing and stabbed into him. His blades slid through ribs and pierced out his back.

Deric dropped the blades and grabbed his metal rod. The blades were too far stuck for him to smoothly remove and continue fighting the nine bandits left.

Swinging the metal staff around, Deric slammed a bandit in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The other eight bandits stepped back as Deric drove the steel pole through the bandit's chest. He screamed and died.

Deric ripped the pole from the man's chest, swung it skillfully across his shoulders and readied it in front of him.

"Kill this sonuva…!" A man in front of Deric was cut off as he took a lightning fast strike to the chin.

His jaw was smashed into bloody fragments and the metal pole ripped through his face.

The Bandits yelled and jumped at him. Deric yelled and drove the pole through a man's chest. He pushed until the pole drove into the wall behind him and Deric ran forward, snagging the axe from the man's hand.

He turned and flung it at the group of bandits. They tried to leap aside and a bandit near the back caught the back of the handle into his chest. Bones crunched and blood spurted from his mouth.

Deric kicked out at the closest bandit and his spiked shoes sliced through his chest. He gave a few expert punches and the bandit dropped, clutching his throat for air.

The five remaining bandits howled and jumped at him. Deric stopped a bandit mid swing, twisted his arm and took his short piece of pipe. He swung it at the man's face and he fell dead, his head crushed in.

Deric swung around and smashed a bandit in with a few fast hits. Three bandits remained and one of them jumped at him. Deric ruthlessly kicked him in the shin, swiped his legs out from under him, and smashed his head in with a stomp.

"Come on!" Deric yelled, holding his hands out in a Karate stance.

The bandits didn't move and so Deric did. He lunged forward and gave a powerful roundhouse kick. The spiked shoes swung around and sliced into the head of the bandit. The man hit the ground and Deric ended him with a stomp.

Deric wasted no time in grabbing one of the bandits and twisted his arm around until it broke. The man screamed and the last bandit stepped back nervously. As the injured bandit bent over and groaned in pain, Deric kneed him in the face and shoved the cartilage of his nose into his brain.

"What…what are you…?" The last bandit muttered, ridiculously clichéd.

"I'm just a lost man looking for his brothers." Deric said, reaching down. He pulled one of his swords from a dead bandit and walked forward to the bandit.

The bandit yelled and turned to run. Deric lunged and drove the blade through the man's side. He yanked it free and the bandit fell to the ground, bleeding heavily from the kidney wound.

Deric breathed heavily and looked around at the room. Eleven dead or dying bandits lay around the room. He looked down at the blood covered blade in his and sighed. As a Buddhist, all life was important to Deric, especially human life, but these were dark and corrupt men.

He retrieved his other blade and cleaned them. He sheathed them and retrieved the light steel pole from a dead bandit. He cleaned it as well, spun it around and tapped it on the ground.

Deric walked out of the room and kept heading west.

He walked through the shadowed and cold streets of D.C. and kept a careful eye around him. The pole in his right hand clicked on the ground with each step. The cold metal ringing echoed through the streets. It was unnaturally quiet and Deric's nerves were raw.

Looking down at his Pip-Boy, Deric clicked through the menus and turned on the radio. He tuned it to Three-Dog's station and turned up the volume. A jaunty tune started to play and it eased the tension around Deric.

He walked down the empty street, listening to the scratchy music through his Pip-Boy. It was a very ironic tune for Deric to be listening to. A man in the song was singing about how everything was better 'Way Back Home'.

The song finished up and a familiar voice rang over the Pip-Boy.

"Hello wasteland! Can you hear me!" Three-Dog cried, "He he he…We here at GnR, that's Galaxy News Radio, would like you to know that we are up and running for all you in the wastes! I would like to send out a message to a very special friend of mine, Deric, if you're listening, I thank you man, you made this all possible. If anyone out there meets my cool cat Deric, a wild kung-fu man in a bright orange getup, give him a hand and a place to sleep. He's a good man. Next up is one from Roy Brown, Mighty Mighty Man. Deric this one's about you."

A real jazzy tune started to play and Deric smiled, thinking of the eccentric Three-Dog and what he must be doing now. Probably kicked back, bobbing his head to the catchy tunes.

The walk out of the D.C. ruins was a calm and boring one. Either he was extremely lucky or the word of his skills had spread and people were avoiding him. He walked with a single pole and two swords only. He had left his rifle and pistol with Three-Dog, confident that he wouldn't need them.

The open wasteland was before him, open and free. His first plan was to travel back to his old vault. Maybe by a sheer wave of luck, they had headed back there and were living in the vault again.

This of course was a constant hope in the back of his mind, but somewhere down in Deric's soul, he knew it wasn't true, but there was a glint of hope.

He had been pushing through the cruel wasteland for over a day. His supply of water was low and his feet hurt. The insides of the armored shoes had worn away and his feet were rubbing against the tough insides of the shoes.

Deric trudged on though; he was only a hill away from the hidden entrance. He walked up the hill and looked down into the small crevice that contained the hidden entrance to Vault Ninety One. It felt strange to be back here without his friends.

"Home sweet home." Deric sighed, stumbling down the hill and into the shadowy cave. The door was closed and there wasn't any visible change.

Walking down to it, Deric pulled on the door handle. It swung open with a squeak and Deric stepped into the dark cave. It wasn't dark inside, there were some lights coming from hole in the vault door. A shadow crossed in front of the light and disappeared again.

His heart leaped and he ran forward, forgetting completely about his foot pain or anything. He sprinted down and leapt through the vault door. His face fell as he saw who it was.

A young boy looked at him, screamed and ran.

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm not going to hurt you." Deric called, trying to run after him.

A larger boy ran around the corner and held up a gun to Deric's face.

"What do you want giant?" The boy asked angrily, jabbing the gun at him.

"I was simply returning to my vault. I was hoping that some of my brethren had returned." Deric said, holding up his hands.

"Wait a second; you're originally from this vault aren't you? You're one of the giants that lived here long ago." The boy said, putting the gun down.

"Yes, I was just returning to see if my brothers had returned or not." Deric asked.

"They have. A group of giants like you came here and then left. Our scouts said they headed west with a strong determination to find a new land of their own. I've no idea what they were looking for." The boy said, resting his gun on his shoulder.

"West? How far?" Deric said hopefully.

"I don't know, as far as one could go west. They collected up darn near everything in the vault and packed it out on two Brahmin and a cart." The boy said, turning around, "Now since there is nothing here but a few old weapons, there should be no reason for you to still be here either."

"Wait, a few old weapons, may I see them?" Deric said suddenly.

"Sure, we tossed them in a locker over there." The boy said casually.

Deric walked over to a large locker on the nearby wall. He pulled it open and found a number of his vault's weapons in there. He only saw one he wanted through. He took out a long eight foot quarterstaff with heavy synthetic metal spikes on both sides. There was a tough rubber grip along the center three feet of the staff.

"Bye gigantor!" The boy cried as he walked out with the quarterstaff in his right hand. He left the light metal pole behind as he walked out with the good quality staff in hand.

Deric walked out of the vault and up the hill. He looked down at his pip-boy, oriented himself west and started to walk, tapping the staff on the ground with each step.

Deric had found a small path with a pair of Brahmin tracks down them. It head directly east with footsteps about and two cart tracks following up the rear. This fit the boys description so he walked the path, following it over rolling hills and ever less desolate lands. It seems the capital waste land was hit the worst of all and everywhere around it was less and less destroyed; although nowhere was fully intact or safe.

He fought some mutated insects and mutated animals, but nothing much of a threat. He was following well traveled highways made before the war. He passed many traders and travelers. Some people just walking because they had nowhere to go or to be; it was a harsh world.

It was smooth traveling until he reached an prewar city known as Indianapolis. The place was as bad as the capital wasteland…or worse.


End file.
